Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee and Poison frontman Brett Michaels could face gun crime charges after a local TV station reported them to police.

The pair had taken time off from their co-headlining US tour to visit a shooting range in North Carolina and were photographed posing with guns, but could be prosecuted as at least one of them has a criminal record which prevents them from operating a gun legally.

North Carolina state laws set out that it is an offence “for any person who has been convicted of a felony to purchase, own, possess, or have in his custody, care, or control any firearm”.

Bizarrely, the rockers were accompanied to the shooting range by a former police officer and were not aware they were committing an offence until local TV station WSOCTV brought it to the attention of police.

The sheriff and local police chiefs didn’t know about it until we brought it to their attention. It could be illegal if any of those men have criminal records that prohibit them from using guns. There were officers from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, Salisbury and Spencer police departments with the rockers. We found that out when the sheriff and both chiefs called me to say they’re now investigating. The sheriff wants to know if the pictures show bad judgement, a policy problem or a crime.